1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 28, there has been proposed a connector 901 including an insulator 903 and contacts 910 held by the insulator 903 (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H10-32031 (Paragraphs [0015], [0022], [0023] and [0025], FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). Note that FIGS. 28, 29 and 30 correspond to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H10-32031, respectively. However, in FIGS. 28, 29 and 30, reference numerals are changed, and some of them are deleted.
Each contact 910 includes a contact board 911, a holding board 913, and a terminal portion 915. The contact board 911 extends toward a fitting hole 903d of the insulator 903. The holding board 913 is held by a bottom portion 903b of the insulator 903. The terminal portion 915 extends out of the insulator 903.
The contact board 911 includes first, second and third contact spring portions 917a, 917b and 917c. The first, second and third contact spring portions 917a, 917b and 917c are arranged in parallel, as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30. The first, second and third contact spring portions 917a, 917b and 917c include first, second and third contact points 918a, 918b and 918c, respectively. The positions of the first and second contact points 918a and 918b are longitudinally displaced from the position of the third contact point 918c. 
When the connector 901 is inserted into a mating connector 930, first, the first and second contact points 918a and 918b of the connector 901 are brought into contact with a mating contact board 936 of a mating contact 934 of the mating connector 930, and then the third contact point 918c of the connector 901 is brought into contact with the mating contact board 936 of the mating contact 934 of the mating connector 930.
In the conventional connector 901, as described above, the first, second and third contact spring portions 917a, 917b and 917c include the first, second and third contact points 918a, 918b and 918c, respectively, and have simple linear shapes, and hence the amount of elastic displacement thereof is not large. Therefore, for example, when the manufacturing accuracy of the connector 901 or the mating connector 930 is low, there is a fear that no contact stability can be ensured since predetermined contact forces of the first, second and third contact points 918a, 918b and 918c sometimes are not obtained.
Further, assuming that the conventional connector 901 is forcibly inserted diagonally into a mating fitting portion 934a of the mating connector 930, the first, second and third contact points 918a, 918b and 918c can hardly be displaced in the direction of arrangement of the first, second and third contact spring portions 917a, 917b and 917c, and hence, the first, second and third contact points 918a, 918b and 918c cannot follow the diagonal movement of the connector 901. As a consequence, there is a fear that fixed ends of the first, second and third contact spring portions 917a, 917b and 917c via which the contact board 911 continues to the holding board 913 are plastically deformed.